Latest News

Closing down online game services is all the rage at the moment, with Nintendo switching off elements of its Wi-Fi services on the Wii and DS on 20th May. It appears that EA is now joining in the fun, with online services for over 50 games closing at the end of June.
The range of games is old enough to incorporate a period...

When Nintendo releases its updated financial reports, it also publishes fresh figures for hardware and software — we've covered the former in our main summary of the year-end results. The software highlights tell their own tale, however, and perhaps help to explain why Nintendo opts for particular franchises and...

New Leaf and Castlevania devs discuss the intricacies of game development

Many of the presentations at last month's Game Developers Conference are now available to view for free on the GDC Vault website, including Animal Crossing: New Leaf producer Katsuya Eguchi and co-director Aya Kyogoku's "How to Turn a New Leaf at the Animal Crossing" and...

A few short weeks after the release of the Pokémon Diamond & Pokémon Pearl: Super Music Collection on iTunes, today we get the Pokémon Black & Pokémon White: Super Music Collection, which you can preview and purchase here for $9.99 / £7.99 / €8.99. This digitally...

In late February we had the disappointing news that online multiplayer, online-based communication apps and even some DLC will become unavailable on Wii and DS, due to Nintendo switching off the Wi-Fi connection. This happens on 20th May — though the Wii Shop and DSi Shop will remain open for business — and prompted some to...

In recent weeks and months Game Freak has been releasing rather impressive soundtrack albums on iTunes for various titles in the Pokémon franchise. Pokémon Diamond & Pearl, the DS titles, have now been covered with the arrival of Pokémon Diamond & Pokémon Pearl: Super Music Collection on the download store. For...

It's possible that gamers relatively fresh to Nintendo hardware won't know much of Koji Igarashi's work, but Castlevania fans that enjoyed the terrific series entries on the Game Boy Advance and DS — in particular — may mourn the formal passing of an era today, even if it's been on the cards for a...

Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy has now arrived in stores around the world, bringing a close to the prequel trilogy and, it seems, the adventures of the iconic Professor Hershel Layton. It was a fantastic finale that was also tinged with sadness, as it closed the door on the top hat wearing...

Times keep on changing, and Nintendo is reminding gamers still rocking the Wii and DS that they should really consider an upgrade. There's the sledgehammer approach of disconnecting the Wi-Fi online multiplayer service on the systems, which is as loud a prompt as possible, but there are more subtle ways the message is being made. For those...

During February Zero Escape series creator Kotaro Uchikoshi emphasized the challenges he was facing to make a third game in the franchise, with publishers apparently not deeming another entry financially viable. Uchikoshi-san was touched by fan support, however, and is contemplating alternative...

Tom Whitehead goes on about online multiplayer's pitfalls, like an old man

I was disappointed to learn about Nintendo switching off online play on the Wii and DS; at the time I was on a short break spending some time with my family and, funnily enough, getting ready for some memory-jogging multiplayer gaming with my older brother. Growing up...

News last week that Nintendo is switching off the Wi-Fi connection services for Wii and DS on 20th May understandably caused some disappointment. While the Wii Shop and DSi Shop will remain open, online multiplayer and some services on both systems will cease to be, which will affect major...

Online gaming may be a big part of our hobby these days, but it doesn't come for free — companies have to spend cash to keep the infrastructure in place and running smoothly. That also means that over time, services will be switched off when they're no longer deemed to be as vital as they once were.
That's...

The news that Nintendo is bringing DS games to the Wii U had us dreaming of all the amazing titles we wanted to see arrive on the eShop.
Like some kind of benevolent moving-image god, our resident video guru Rory has transcoded these desires into magical lights and sound, and has lovingly deposited the results onto the...

The Zero Escape series, which features the puzzle-based visual novels 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors on the DS and Virtue's Last Reward on the 3DS and Vita, has always included the carrying of hope in desperate times as a theme. Series director Kotaro Uchikoshi is now finding himself trying to maintain a similar...

The 3DS has demonstrated its solid market performance yet again, with the latest Japanese sales tracking figures from Media Create revealing Nintendo’s beloved handheld is selling faster than the Game Boy Advance.
After 154 weeks since the system’s original release in Japan, a total of 15 million...

Remember the 3DS Ambassador campaign? Of course you do — it rewarded early adopters by giving them a raft of awesome Game Boy Advance titles for free. At the time, many assumed that the exciting prospect of downloading and playing even more GBA games on the 3DS Virtual Console was...

Nintendo has just lifted the lid on its plans to bring DS games to the Wii U Virtual Console, which means that owners of that particular machine will soon be able to enjoy a library of classic releases from one of the company's most popular formats. The DS has played host to some truly stunning pieces of software since its...

Update:
The official English translation of Satoru Iwata's briefing confirms that the quick-start GamePad feature — outlined below — will come in a system update due in the early summer. All other details below are accurate as per the translated briefing.
Original Article:
We will be providing a...

Video game music is perhaps one of the most cherished and appreciated aspects of a game’s reputation. Titles in franchises such as The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario are loved not solely for their gameplay, but for their connection to the player through wit, charm, and music; some of the most beloved...

Shota Kageyama, a composer for recent Pokémon titles including X &Y and Black & White, has announced via Twitter that he has left developer Game Freak to pursue independent music.
Kageyama's tweet has been translated and reported by

Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy is already out in Europe and arrives in North America on 28th February; for some the end is still to come while others have already closed their 3DS lid — or hit a button on the 2DS — with a regretful sigh. Level-5 may have kept the door open for the series to...

Sega's Shining Force series is still well thought of, even if the PS2 instalments arguably got off on the wrong foot by drastically rewriting series canon and deviating from the strategic gameplay found in older titles. Evidently someone was buying these games anyway, as after four entries on the...

After a sluggish financial performance due to business changes, Rune Factory developer Neverland has announced it will be closing its doors.
The Japanese company made the announcement via its official website, explaining that its financial status had deteriorated considerably in recent times. After failing to raise the...

While it's easy to get excited about the new games coming to the Wii U and 3DS, it's worth remembering that there are an awful lot of Wii and DS consoles out in the wild, and plenty of people still rely on these superseded formats for their interactive entertainment — hence Activision's recent announcement of...